


Details

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 20:44:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4536705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Vega fights for her life, Jane helps Cho realise something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Details

**Author's Note:**

> For one million words "randomosity" challenge. The prompts I used were the first line I was given and the word "imagine" (it is in there, I swear!)

Cho watched, helpless, as the door closed behind them. Swallowing hard, he stepped right up to the glass, close enough to lean right in, letting his forehead touch against the cool glass. The room was a flurry of activity, doctors and nurses crowding around Vega, orders being shouted, people running this way and that as they fought to save her life. 

"Kimball." Lisbon's voice accompanied the sensation of a hand on his shoulder. She used his given name too, and he could count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times he'd heard her do that. That told him all he needed to know about how he must look, how serious things were. So did her face when he turned to look at her and he saw her furrowed brow, her eyes darker than they usually were. "Come on," she said, sliding her hand down to his elbow, tugging gently. "You don't need to see that." 

"It was my fault." He didn't move. "I shouldn't have left her... I should have known better."

"No it wasn't. And you do know better than to think like that." Lisbon's voice was pure steel, her boss voice, and Cho felt himself respond despite himself. "The only person to blame is the shooter and we will find him." She pulled his elbow again and this time he went, allowed her to push him down into what was possibly the most uncomfortable armchair he'd ever sat in. She looked down at him and wrinkled her nose. "I'll call the office, get someone to drop over your go bag." He must have looked curious because she added, gesturing at his shirt, "You... ah..."

He looked down then, realised his suit and shirt were stained red with blood and his stomach turned over. "Thanks," he said, hearing his own voice from very far away. 

Lisbon's frown grew more pronounced and she looked around as a new voice entered the conversation. "Go," Jane said, dropping into the armchair beside Cho's. "I've got this." With a nod, Lisbon was gone and Jane was pressing a plastic cup into Cho's hand. "I got us some tea," he said, his lips twisting into something halfway between a smile and a grimace. "Or what they choose to pass as tea... which doubtless tastes worse out of one of these cups... but we do what we have to." 

"Thanks." Cho sipped the hot liquid which managed to taste only like hot water with a dash of milk added in. 

They sat in silence for a long moment before Jane spoke again. "So... how long?" When Cho turned to look at him, curious and bewildered, Jane didn't blink. "You and Vega," he explained, patient as if he were talking to a child. "How long?"

"There is no me and Vega," Cho replied instantly but that didn't deter Patrick Jane in the slightest. He hadn't really expected it to. 

"Well, not yet," he said. "But I have some experience with things like this." He threw a glance over to Lisbon, standing in the corner with her back to them, phone pressed to her ear. "She obviously has a crush on you... and I thought it was one sided until I saw your face just now. So, my original question... how long have you had feelings for her?" 

Cho opened his mouth to deny it. Then he pictured Vega, teasing him in the car about being the boss, about showing his happiness. Pictured her in the field, in the office, her stubbornness, her determination, her drive to be the best she could be. Pictured her smile, the way her eyes danced when she looked at him. Remembered the weight of her body in his arms as he looked down at her and told her she did nothing wrong, willed her to hold on. Imagined a life where he'd never see any of those things again. 

And like the proverbial ton of bricks, the truth of Jane's words hit him. 

"I don't know," he said and he meant it. Maybe Jane saw that because he clapped him on the shoulder, smiled a sympathetic smile. Which didn't actually make Cho feel any better - a Jane without wisecracks was a Jane he saw only rarely, and only then when things were very, very bad. 

"Maybe you should think about it," he said. "I mean, me and Lisbon... Rigsby and Van Pelt...  stranger things have happened." 

"I'm going to be her boss," Cho countered and Jane waved a hand dismissively. 

"Details," he said. "Take it from me, Kimball... these chances don't come along often. You need to take the chance when it presents itself." 

Shaking his head, Cho looked down into his tea and hoped that the chance hadn't already passed him by. 


End file.
